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1
Holly
Holly tapped her fingers against the counter, listening to the classical music play on the phone as she waited for a financial aid counselor to answer. What had been peaceful thirty-five minutes ago was now an irritating buzz.
Holly’s roommate and closest friend, Diane, came into the room, grabbed her water bottle from the fridge and took a drink. “No one’s answered yet?” she asked.
Holly dropped her head on the table in despair.
Diane patted her back a few times. “That bad? Everything will be fine. It always is.”
“I hope so.” Holly tapped her fingers faster, more nervous with each passing minute. If she didn’t get her annual scholarship, she might as well pack up and go.... Well, she’d have to go somewhere else. Back to Diane’s house? The last surgery Holly had undergone a few years back had surely been the cost of a year’s tuition, and there were still plenty more planned for the future. She couldn’t mooch off Diane’s family any more than she already had.
“University of Utah Financial Aid office, how can I help you?” a polite woman’s voice said. She’d obviously not been on hold, but had been carrying on with her job, one customer at a time.
Holly inhaled, gathering all the courage she could muster, and tried not to cry. If she didn’t get this scholarship, she really would be in a pinch and would have to give up on getting her degree indefinitely. Unlike some students at Utah State University, who came from supportive families and good educational backgrounds, Holly had struggled with support and learning since day one. Her accident hadn’t helped either.
Instinctively, she grabbed at her scarred cheek. The scar spanned from the tip of her left ear to the length of her neck and was a permanent reminder of her parents’ indifference and neglect.
“Hi, my name is Holly Brown, and I’m trying to check the status of my scholarship. It says online that my application hasn’t been accepted yet, and I’m supposed to enroll for classes this week for the winter semester. Can you help? Please?” she added.
“Absolutely.”
Holly appreciated kind people more than she could say. She smiled, but one part of her mouth remained still, as it always would. “Thank you so much.”
Holly eased onto her barstool, relaxed now that someone was looking into her issue. After a minute, the lady spoke again. “Miss Brown?”
Holly almost flew out of her chair. “Yes?”
“You only have to reapply for full scholarships at the end of a school year. Grades pending, you will be reconsidered and notified a few days before school starts. Any extra funds not allocated toward tuition fees and other departments will be deposited to your school account two or three days before school starts so you can pay for books and other school supplies.”
“Ah,” Holly said, her cheeks burning, minus the scarred side of her face, which didn’t have much feeling in it.
“Miss Brown, was there anything else?”
She took a sharp breath, mostly from relief that she’d be taken care of for one more semester. “Yes, I’m still here. I didn’t realize it was an automatic thing, but that’s good news. I’m just trying to cover all my bases.”
“Not a problem. It looks like you are good to go.”
“Thank you so much for your help.” Now all she had to do was check with her apartment manager to make sure she still had a job next semester. At night, she cleaned the office, tanning bed room, and the apartment’s reception area where parties were held. Not a bad deal. Free rent, only a few hours of work a week, and she kept physically active.
Holly put her phone down, and Diane, who’d been standing at the doorway, yelled for their other roommate.
“Aimee, she’s done. Let’s go.”
Once the two girls were standing by the door, Holly gave them a once over. Since Aimee liked to underdress for winter, wearing cute skirts and ridiculous sandals in the frigid weather, and Diane preferred loud fashion statements, Holly always gave them a once over to know how close she should be to them in a store. Holly had begged them to dress down when they went out together, but “dress down” wasn’t in either of their vocabularies.
Holly preferred sweats and a hoodie. Maybe a hat or beanie to hide the side of her scar. Summertime was the worst. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d worn a bathing suit. Most of the time, she wore shirts with high necks and sleeves that touched her elbows. It made for a hot summer but that was life.
Today, the two girls wore matching jeans, ankle boots, and hoodie sweatshirts. That, Holly could deal with. “I’ll meet you at the car,” Holly said, grabbing her purse from the couch. “I need to check in with the office.”
Aimee stood next to Diane by the door, her hand on her hip. “Holly,” she whined. “We’ve already waited enough. Hurry. I’m hungry!”
“Maybe you shouldn’t eat all your food before the first week of the month ends,” Diane said, looping her arm through Aimee’s.
“Hush,” Aimee said, though she was smiling.
“Go ahead, Holly. We’ll wait in the truck.”
